88 The weather 1 Basic vocabulary The climate refers to the general weather conditions in a place. For example: Parts of southern England have an almost Mediterranean climate for part of the year. Some people think pollution is causing climate change in many parts of the world. In countries with a tropical climate there is a dry season and a rainy season. In Europe there are four seasons. Translate these into your language: 1. spring MUA XUAN 2. summer MUAH 3. auumn Mila thu 4. winter MUA dong British English autumn = American English fal. 2 What's the weather like? 1-g 2-h 3-b 4-f 5-d 6-e 7-c 8a Match the sentences on the left with the related sentences on the right: . It was sunny and very hot. . We had a lot of rain. . We had thunder and lightning. a b. There were a few wintry showers. . It snowed on and off. c. It was quite misty. d. It was very overcast. - It was dull and cloudy. . There was a bit of drizzle. 1 2 3. 4, Ie was very windy, 5. 6. . We had some light rain. There was quite a breeze. 7. It was a bit foggy. . We had a bit of a heatwave. ao 8. There was the most awful storm. - Ie was very wet, Now put the following adjectives into the correct pattern below: lovely miserable beautiful horrible fabulous. glorious _ terrible foul 9. What miserable. / weather! It hasn't stopped raining all day. 10. What . (0%. 7 beaut |, weather! Let’s go down to the beach. A breeze is a fairly strong wind. It is not as strong as a gale. Fog is much thicker than mist. It’s often misty in the mornings or in the mountains, Drizzle is very fine rain. If it is overcast, it is very dull. Wintry showers is used on weather forecasts to mean a little snow. When would you expect to see a rainbow? rainbow appaars when ras sunshine and rain atthe same time 3 Weather collocations Match each group of adjectives with one of the Now complete these expressions with a word on nouns on the right: the right: 1. light, steady, heavy, torrential \ a. storm 6. gust of f. ice 2. light, stiff b. fog 7.8 ray of g. bad weather 3. dense, thick, patchy ©. sky 8. a sheet of h. wind 4. severe, tropical . breeze 9a blanket of i. sunshine 5. clear, blue, grey, cloudless e. rain 10. a spell of j. snow te 2d 3b 4a 5c 6h 7i 8f 9j 10g4 Temperature words Use these words to complete the sentences: freezing warm cool humid mild chilly 1. It’s absolutely .fiezing. out. I'd put a coat on if [were you. 2. We've had lovely sunshine. Ir’s been so -WAIM. I’ve been on the beach every day. 3. Iwas on holiday in Thailand last month. It was so - all the time. Thank goodness the hotel had air-conditioning. 4, It was pretty hot down at the beach but there was a lovely COO . breeze. S. Its a bit Chilly in here. I think I'll put the heating on. 6. We haven’t had a bad winter at all. It’s been very .Mild. for the time of year. 5 Wet weather Choose the correct ending for each sentence: 1. It’s pouring 2. I'm soaked! I just got caught . 3. It looks like it’s going to rain, If I were you, Td take... : 4, The weather's terrible. I hope it clears up 5. It suddenly started pouring down, I had to shelter... 2.02.0. : 6. My feet are soaking wer. I got out of the car and stepped . -abitlates 1f 2e 3c 4a 5b 6d in a doorway. . an umbrella. in a huge puddle. in that heavy shower. with rain out there! pepo ge When the rain is very heavy, we say that it’s pouring. It is rare for people to say that it's raining cats and dogs. This is an idiom taught by English teachers, but seldom used! 6 Weather forecasts Use the correct form of the verbs to complete the forecast: fall reach remain Tomorrow the south will again (remain warm and dry. Temperatures could (2) . each 25°C during the afternoon. In the north, the day will stare quite cool, but temperatures will (3) .CIS@ . gradually during the day. Later in the week the weather will turn cold and night- time temperatures could (4)falll . . . as low as. 8c Now use these words to complete the next forecast: rise wintry icy melt. — sleet frost Tonight will be cold and most parts of the country can expect an overnight (5) frost Tomorrow will also be bitterly cold with (6)wintry showers in many places. Rain or (7) .Sleet will turn to snow, especially on high ground, later in the day. Roads will be (8) icy. . . and drivers are advised to take extra care. At the weekend daytime temperatures could fall below zero and there will be snow in most parts of the country. Monday will be a little warmer and by Tuesday morning the snow will begin to (9) .melt. . 7 Vocabulary notes Here are some notes on special expressions used to talk about the weather: 1. When a clear sky becomes cloudy, we say, “Irs clouding over.” When it improves, we say, “It’s clearing up.” 2. A long spell of unusually hot weather is called a heatwave. A cold spell is sometimes called a cold snap. 3. Another word for chilly is nippy.